venues and “venue shopping” (or “strategic decision making”)
rule making
why Congress passes broad, non-specific legislation
Administrative Procedure Act of 1946
“capture” of regulatory agencies
political executives
civil service
White House Office of Public Liaison
inner and outer cabinet departments
clientele groups
policy implementation & how it defines policy
standing to sue
amicus curiae
class action suits
SLAPP suits
limitations of courts as venues for interest groups
Rutherford Institute
ACLU, ACLJ
Brown v. Board of Education
Robert Bork
Interest groups and Supreme Court nominations since Bork & Thomas
Harriet Miers
role of ABA in judicial selection
why there are many judicial vacancies currently
who becomes a federal judge and how
resources needed to lobby the courts
lobbying coalitions (ad hoc and enduring)
“Wednesday meeting” and “Tuesday group”
“strange bedfellows” (examples)
factors that increase the chances of coalition success
“iron triangles” (or “subgovernments”)
issue networks
importance of advocacy explosion in explaining issue networks
hollow cores, multiple niches, sloppy boundaries, expertise
advantages possessed by business in influencing government
limitations and counterweights to business power
extent of bias in the interest group system as a whole (Berry & Wilcox)
B & W’s “three commonsense standards” for regulating interest groups
status of the Madisonian system today (Cigler & Loomis)
blurring of roles between interest groups and parties
blurring of representation
Tom DeLay